Algeria

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Coordinates: 28°N 2°E / 28°N 2°E / 28; 2

People's Democratic Republic of Algeria الجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية (Arabic) Tagduda Tadzayrit Tamagdayt Taɣerfant (Berber) Flag Emblem Motto: بالشّعب وللشّعب (Arabic) "By the people and for the people" Anthem: Kassaman We Pledge by: Moufdi Zakaria External audio file: • Capital and largest city Algiers 36°42′N 3°13′E / 36.700°N 3.217°E / 36.700; 3.217 Official languages Arabic Other languages Berber (constitutionally national) French (lingua franca) Ethnic groups 99% Arab-Berber 1% others Demonym Algerian Government Unitary Semi-presidential republic  -  President Abdelaziz Bouteflika  -  Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal Legislature Parliament  -  Upper house Council of the Nation  -  Lower house People's National Assembly Independence from France  -  Recognized 3 July 1962   -  Declared 5 July 1962  Area  -  Total 2,381,741 km2 (10th) 919,595 sq mi   -  Water (%) negligible Population  -  2012 estimate 37,900,000  -  2008 census 34,080,030  -  Density 14.6/km2 (206th) 37.9/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2012 estimate  -  Total $272.866 billion (47th)  -  Per capita $7,477 (100th) GDP (nominal) 2012 estimate  -  Total $207.794 billion (49th)  -  Per capita $5,693 (93rd) Gini (1995) 35.3 medium HDI (2013)  0.713 high · 93rd Currency Algerian dinar (DZD) Time zone CET (UTC+01) Drives on the right Calling code +213 ISO 3166 code DZ Internet TLD .dz الجزائر. a. ^ The CIA World Factbook states that about 15% of Algerians, a minority, identify as Berber even though almost all Algerians have Berber origins instead of Arab origins. The Factbook explains that of the approximately 15% who identify as Berber, most live in Kabylie, more closely identify with Berber heritage instead of Arab heritage, and are Muslim.

Algeria (i/ælˈdʒɪəriə/; Arabic: الجزائر‎, al-Jazā'ir ; Berber: ⴷⵣⴰⵢⴻⵔ , French: Algérie), officially The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in North Africa on the Mediterranean coast. Its capital and most populous city is Algiers. Algeria is a semi presidential republic, it consists of 48 provinces and 1541 communes. With a population exceeding 37 million, it is the 34th most populated country on Earth. With an economy based on oil resources, manufacturing has suffered from what is called Dutch disease. Sonatrach, the national oil company, is the largest company in Africa. Algeria has the second largest army with the largest defense budget in Africa. Algeria had a peaceful Nuclear Program by the 1990s.

With a total area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa and in the Mediterranean. The country is bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, in the east by Libya, in the west by Morocco, in the southwest by Western Sahara, Mauritania, and Mali, in the southeast by Niger, and in the north by the Mediterranean Sea. Algeria is a member of the African Union, the Arab League, OPEC and the United Nations, and is a founding member of the Arab Maghreb Union.

The territory of today's Algeria was the home of many ancient prehistoric cultures, including Aterian and Capsian cultures. Its area has known many empires and dynasties, including ancient Berber Numidians, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arab Umayyads, Berber Fatimids, Berber Almoravids, Berber Almohads and later Turkish Ottomans.